Category: Science
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Muscles may maintain the “memory” of past gains in their cells
One of the most frustrating things about exercise is how easily progress can be undone – “use it or lose it,” as the old saying goes. If you don’t keep up the workout routine, your muscles slowly shrink and you’ll end up back at square one before you realize it. But maybe that’s not quite…
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Alligators ‘frozen’ in North Carolina swamp exhibit bizarre survival tactic
In a bizarre and instinctual survival tactic, alligators that normally lurk in a swamp in eastern North Carolina are now “frozen” beneath the murky water. Every inch of the reptiles’ bodies stay underwater — except for their snout. Officials at The Swamp Park in Ocean Isle Beach took to Facebook this week with a videothat shows the gators icebound in…
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The Real Reason Fingers Wrinkle in Water
The full explanation of how and why our fingers wrinkle in wet environments is still the subject of some debate. What we know is that the physiological mechanisms causing this phenomenon are the result of our veins constricting (vasoconstriction) in your hands and feet. One might notice this occurs even in warm water, when we…
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A day in the life of a Biomechanist
Ryan Hodierne is a Biomechanist at #TeamNSWIS, primarily in the sport of swimming. Hear what his job in biomechanics at the NSW Institute of Sport involves on a typical day.
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Watch NASA dump 450,000 gallons of water in less than a minute
NASA frequently achieves breathtaking feats: launching a probe to kiss the sun, discovering new worlds in far-flung star systems, and keeping humans alive as they speed around in a spaceship 250 miles above Earth. But space is hard, and it’s not always glamorous getting there. Sometimes NASA blows us away in more mundane ways—like by shooting about 450,000 gallons…
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Mysterious great white shark lair discovered in Pacific Ocean
The sharks’ annual pilgrimage to the mid-Pacific region from the coasts of California and Mexico has baffled scientists for years, not just because it is so far away — it takes a month for the sharks to get there — but because it seemed, on the surface, to be lacking the kind of prey or…
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Study shows competitive swimmer bodies consistent in morphology across race event lengths
A trio of researchers with Hunter College of the City University of New York has found that despite swimming in vastly different events, competitive swimmers tend to have the same body mass index (BMI). In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Christian Gagnon, Michael Steiper and Herman Pontzer describe their study of…
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Drowning not a major concern for 80% of parents with babies on holiday
Most parents feel no need to fret about their babies’ safety in the water while on holiday, according to new research. Less than a fifth (17.9%) expressed concern about the risk of drowning in a survey carried out by Splash About. The finding comes ahead of Drowning Prevention Week (15-25 June) — a campaign devised by the Royal…
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Anatomy of a Swimmer – How does Olympic champion Abbey Weitzeil generate speed?
In cooperation with Gold Medallist Abbey Weitzeil, we are revealing the key physical features that help make the Team USA swimmer so fast.